Good morning. UCLA is 7-0 for the first time since 2005. Ty Dieffenbach hurt his knee late in the first half, came back and threw a 63-yard touchdown pass, and the defense held Michigan State to 47 rushing yards in a 28-10 win. Across the country, USC ran for minus-17 yards and lost 24-7 at Wisconsin. Angel City clinched a playoff spot, and the Kings and Golden Knights both lost. Today is full: Rams at Raiders at 1:25, the Lakers at Utah at 2, the Wave and the Clippers at 4, and El Tráfico at 6. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 7-0. Ty Dieffenbach played through a knee injury and UCLA beat Michigan State 28-10 — Jack Haslett at the Rose Bowl.
🏈 Three takeaways. UCLA’s defense held Michigan State without a completion for nearly 40 minutes — Brady Charette at the Rose Bowl.
🏈 Minus-17 rushing yards. USC fell apart in Madison, 24-7 — Holdenn Graff at Camp Randall Stadium.
⚽ In. Angel City beat Bay FC 2-0 and clinched its first playoff spot since 2023 — Micaela Begue at BMO Stadium.
🏒 Three straight. Vegas lost 2-1 in overtime in Columbus — Derek Hegna at Nationwide Arena.
🏒 Two-game streak over. The Devils beat the Kings 3-1 in Newark — Allan Kreda at Prudential Center.
🏈 56 points. Micah Alejado threw for 323 yards as Hawai’i snapped a five-game losing streak — Paul Brecht.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — SATURDAY
🏈 College football: UCLA 28, Michigan State 10 · Wisconsin 24, USC 7 · Hawai’i 56, Northern Illinois 21 · Colorado State 56, San Diego State 49
🏒 NHL: Blue Jackets 2, Golden Knights 1 (OT) · Devils 3, Kings 1 · Ducks 5, Flyers 4
⚽ NWSL: Angel City 2, Bay FC 0 · MLS: San Diego FC 2, Sounders 2
🏀 College basketball (exhibition): BYU 89, UNLV 77
🏒 AHL: Gulls 4, Barracuda 1
🏈 SEVEN AND OH
Late in the first half, Ty Dieffenbach was sacked and hurt his knee, and the trainers helped him off the field. He came back. “In the end, when he came in and moved around, he’s like, ‘I’m perfectly fine,’” Bob Chesney said.
Early in the third quarter, Dieffenbach threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Brian Rowe Jr., the longest of his UCLA career, to make it 21-7. Anthony Woods scored on the third of three straight carries for 28-7. Jack Haslett has Dieffenbach 18-of-31 for 198 yards. “I think I missed a lot of throws today,” he said.
The defense did the rest. Brady Charette writes that UCLA forced three turnovers. Sammy Omosigho recovered a fumble in the red zone, Donavyn Pellot returned an interception 67 yards to set up Wayne Knight’s touchdown, and Malik Hartford had a late interception. Michigan State ran for 47 yards on 29 carries, converted 2 of 11 third downs and went 39 minutes and 53 seconds of game time without a completion. UCLA outgained the Spartans 443-156. UCLA lost two fumbles, and Dieffenbach made the tackle on the second return. “It’s 14 points that Ty ends up saving there,” Chesney said.
UCLA is 7-0 and 5-0 in the Big Ten, its best start since 2005. Nevada comes to the Rose Bowl on Halloween.
USC went the other way. Jayden Maiava threw two first-quarter interceptions, was sacked five times and finished with minus-57 rushing yards. Holdenn Graff writes the Trojans ran 25 times for minus-17 yards, and Caden Chittenden missed from 58 and had a 44-yard try blocked. Wisconsin won 24-7. Lincoln Riley said the team “just flat-out didn’t play good enough on any of the three sides of the ball.” USC (6-2) hosts No. 3 Ohio State on Halloween at 4:30 at the Coliseum.
GO DEEPER
› Jack Haslett: Gritty performance from Ty Dieffenbach powers No. 9 UCLA past Michigan State (The Sporting Tribune)
› Brady Charette: Key turnovers lead UCLA to 28-10 win over Michigan State (The Sporting Tribune)
› Holdenn Graff: USC falls apart in Madison, losing to unranked Wisconsin (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: UCLA defeats Michigan State, 28-10, at Rose Bowl (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏟️ A BIG SUNDAY
Rams at Raiders, 1:25 on FOX, Allegiant Stadium. The Rams (2-4) have lost three of four and are without Davante Adams, Kobie Turner and Poona Ford. Puka Nacua left Thursday’s practice with a calf injury, and Brandon McManus makes his Rams debut as the team’s third kicker this month. Nacua will be a game-time decision. The Raiders (3-3) have lost three straight. Steve Carp writes they’re 30th in rushing at 3.0 yards a carry, and the Rams are 26th against the run. “Got to quit talking about it, and we got to go do it,” Klint Kubiak said.
Lakers at Jazz, 2 on Spectrum SportsNet. The Lakers are 2-0 after beating Golden State and the Clippers. Walker Kessler, who went 12-for-12 in his Lakers debut, faces Utah.
Clippers at Thunder, 4 on ClipperVision. The Clippers (1-1) turned it over 26 times against the Lakers. “We fought, we played hard, but we didn’t play smart,” Tyronn Lue said.
Boston Legacy at Wave, 4, Snapdragon Stadium. The Wave have won five straight and are one point out of first in the Shield race with two games left.
El Tráfico: Galaxy at LAFC, 6 on Apple TV, BMO Stadium. The Galaxy are eighth, the first play-in spot, and Rob Jalon called this game “extremely decisive” for their playoff hopes. “The important thing now is to rest well and think about LAFC,” Ruiz said after the draw with San Diego. LAFC drew 1-1 at NYCFC last week.
GO DEEPER
› Steve Carp: Can Raiders’ struggling run game break out vs. Rams? (The Sporting Tribune)
› Rams WR Puka Nacua leaves practice early with calf injury, status uncertain for Raiders game (The Sporting Tribune)
› Carlos Yakimowich: Lakers outlast Clippers behind big three (The Sporting Tribune)
› Rob Jalon: Galaxy grind out 2-2 draw against San Diego FC (The Sporting Tribune)
🏒 A BAD SATURDAY ON THE ICE
Vegas has lost three straight for the first time this season. Denton Mateychuk scored for Columbus in the first period, and Tomas Hertl tied it before the intermission. Then Shea Theodore took a penalty in overtime, and Adam Fantilli scored 15 seconds in for a 2-1 Blue Jackets win. Derek Hegna writes Vegas has scored three goals in its last nine periods, and the penalty kill has given up a power-play goal in five straight games. Mitch Marner remains out. Ottawa is at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
The Kings’ streak ended at two. Scott Laughton scored late in the second period, but Anthony Mantha tied it with 1:17 left in the period, and Brett Pesce scored the winner in the third. Allan Kreda writes the Devils outshot the Kings 14-3 in the second. Anton Forsberg made 23 saves and is 0-2-1. “It was a game in the third and we gave one up,” Peter Laviolette said. “For whatever reason we are playing slower in the second,” Trevor Lewis said. The Kings (2-5-2) are at the Rangers on Monday and Chicago on Tuesday.
The Ducks finished their road trip in Philadelphia.Anaheim did a bit of everything in coming back twice from down two goals and giving up a shorthanded goal to surge back over the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-4, on Saturday afternoon at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Ducks (5-6-0, 10 points) snapped a five-game losing streak with their first comeback victory of the season. They host Vancouver on Tuesday.
GO DEEPER
› Derek Hegna: Flaws showing as Golden Knights fall to Blue Jackets in OT (The Sporting Tribune)
› Allan Kreda: Devils smother Kings en route to 3-1 win in Newark (The Sporting Tribune)
› Zach Cavanagh: Ducks, Carlsson spark comeback in Philly, snap 5-game losing streak (The Sporting Tribune)
🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
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🌮 Jack in the Box — two free tacos with any drink, still listed from the Lakers’ win over the Clippers. Code LETSGOLAKERS in the app or online.
Today’s triggers: a Rams interception gets a free Famous Star with Cheese at Carl’s Jr. (check the Rams’ promotions page for the current code), a Lakers win in Utah brings the tacos back, and an LAFC win in El Tráfico brings back the DoorDash $10-off code. San Diego FC’s draw didn’t trigger Carl’s Jr.
📌 AROUND THE MARKETS
Angel City is in the playoffs. Gisele Thompson scored in the 49th minute and Riley Tiernan in the 83rd, and Angel City beat Bay FC 2-0 to clinch its first playoff spot since 2023. Micaela Begue writes Angel City is fourth with 49 points, unbeaten in nine, with a chance to host the first home playoff game in club history. “We’re extremely effective and that’s what you need going into the playoffs,” Sarah Gorden said. The regular-season finale vs. Boston Legacy is Sunday, November 1st.
Hawai’i scored 56. Micah Alejado threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns, and the Rainbow Warriors (2-6) won 56-21 at Northern Illinois to end a five-game losing streak. They’re off until Nov. 7 at UTEP.
San Diego State gave up 56. Freshman Stone Saunders threw for 369 yards in his first start, but Colorado State had 549 yards and won 56-49. Four Aztec turnovers came within five plays, including a pick-six. Eric Evelhoch writes the loss likely ends their Pac-12 title hopes, and the goal now is a bowl game. SDSU (3-5) hosts Washington State on Saturday.
Also Saturday: San Diego FC drew Seattle 2-2 at Snapdragon Stadium, BYU beat UNLV 89-77 in an exhibition at the Thomas & Mack Center, and Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan both defended their titles at UFC 333.
GO DEEPER
› Micaela Begue: Angel City defeats Bay FC, 2-0, as they get ready for playoffs (The Sporting Tribune)
› Paul Brecht: Hawai’i snaps five-game losing streak with 56-21 blowout win at Northern Illinois (The Sporting Tribune)
› Eric Evelhoch: Spear Points: Not much defense in Aztecs loss at CSU (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp: UNLV returns to ‘Hardway Eight’ mode in 89-77 exhibition loss to BYU (The Sporting Tribune)
› Michael Silver: Volkanovski and Yan defend titles at UFC 333 (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: San Diego FC draw against Seattle Sounders, 2-2, at Snapdragon Stadium (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
🏈 NFL: Rams at Raiders — Allegiant Stadium — 1:25 p.m. — FOX
🏀 NBA: Lakers at Jazz — Delta Center — 2:00 p.m. — Spectrum SportsNet
⚽ NWSL: Boston Legacy at Wave — Snapdragon Stadium — 4:00 p.m. — NWSL+
🏀 NBA: Clippers at Thunder — Paycom Center — 4:00 p.m. — ClipperVision
⚽ MLS: Galaxy at LAFC — BMO Stadium — 6:00 p.m. — Apple TV
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
🏈 Rams at Raiders — Allegiant Stadium — $255
⚽ El Tráfico, Galaxy at LAFC — BMO Stadium — $100
🏈 Ohio State at USC — Coliseum (Saturday) — $115
🌴 TST TRIVIA
UCLA’s 7-0 start is its best since 2005. Who was the Bruins’ head coach that season?
Answer at the bottom.
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Trivia answer: Karl Dorrell. The 2005 Bruins finished 10-2.
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